


The Thunder

by PunkRockAvenger



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Comics - Fandom, The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU for Age of Ultron, F/M, I'll introduce some characters of another movies, I'll use characters from comics and from movies of Marvel, Inhumans (Marvel), Mutants, New SHIELD, OC's - Freeform, Post-HYDRA Reveal, Reader's past, Steve Rogers x Reader - Freeform, X-men - Freeform, director coulson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-07 12:14:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4262922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkRockAvenger/pseuds/PunkRockAvenger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'There's no fairy tales, no Prince Charming; there's no winners in a war, because is not a game. It's grief. Just pain.There's not such thing as destiny, Captain,' she said looking at him straight in the eye. 'We write our own endings'.</p><p>'We can make our choices,' Steve replied quietly.</p><p>'Sometimes, our choices make us.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Change

**Author's Note:**

> It will be AU for AoU, and I'll add another characters from the Marvel Universe, including comics. One is in this chapter (Can you spot her? ;D). This is my first Avengers fanfic, hope you like it. And remember for this chapter: Not everything is like it seems.
> 
> PD: English is not my first language, so if they're grammatical errors, I would like you tell me, so I can fix'em. Or if you wanna be my beta, I'll love you forever and beyond!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before start this, I have to say something: I know how it looks like in this first chapter, but you've gotta know (for worse or best) in this story YOU are not a sweet, innocent girl, at least not the way it seems.

**April 27, 2015**

 

Steve Rogers sighed looking at the glass of whiskey in his hand. He sipped the golden liquid and he regretted, for what seemed like the millionth time, that he couldn't get drunk.

 

The Captain looked around to see his colleagues and friends drinking and laughing. They had just come back from destroying another HYDRA base somewhere. He didn't even remember where it was, not that he cared at all. He just wanted them to disappear so no more civilians got hurt because of the terrorist orgnatitation.

 

He heard Thor booming, as loud as he was right next to him, although he was at the opposite of the room. The laughs of Jane, Thor's girlfriend, their friend Darcy and Pepper. He turned around, seeing Bruce talking lively with Sam and Rhodey, the last one looking like he was about to shoot himself if the other two didn't shut up, what made him smile a little.

 

And then he felt a hand on his shoulder, patting his back. Steve swallowed the sigh that rose from his throat and looked to his friend.

 

'Hey, Capsicle!' Tony gave him a wide smile; his brown eyes twinkling with a childish shine.

 

'Hi, Tony,' Steve replied, raising his glass.

 

'Are you having a good time?'

 

The Captain glared at him. He didn't even know how in Hell he had let Tony to drag him there. But, after discussing with Stark for almost an hour and being harassed by Natasha and Clint, he had finally given in and there they were now, in a bar in the heart of Brooklin, with lots of other people around.

 

He had to admit it was an extraordinary, unreal place, tho.

 

In first place, they weren't being disturbed by fangirls and fanboys. Although he always tried to be friendly, _sometimes_ it was a bit tiring. He had seen some boards and regulatory guns, so wondered if it was a "cop bar". That could be the reason why they did not say anything; they were exhausted of fighting crime, and, just as The Avengers, just wanted a break.

 

In second, the walls were all covered with posters of rock bands, some even of his day (and he wasn't referring only to the bands, also to the posters themselves, that seemed to be able to be reduced to nothing but ashes if anyone dared to touch them), and unknown songwriters who smiled at the camera from the shelves.

 

Despite the festive atmosphere, he would rather be in his apartment. But he wouldn't say that to Tony, it wouldn't be polite, and for once, the man seemed to be legitimate just trying to cheer them all up.

 

'C'mon Stark,' he heard Natasha at his other side. 'You can't ask supersoldiers from War World II if they're having a good time since we're not showing patriotism and singing gospel. That's not polite.'

 

Tony snorted and Steve glanced at Natasha, who was standing there with a beer in hand and a bright, though fierce, smile.

 

'Hilarious,' Steve replied, trying to look angry. Which, of course, he failed.

 

'How are you doing, Rogers?' Widow asked looking right into his deep, blue eyes to make sure he wouldn't lie to her.

 

'Good, I guess' Steve shrugged. He really didn't want to talk to them about the nightmares he was having since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. Specially about Bucky. Despite the help of Sam, he hadn't found nothing about his best friend. It was as if he had vanished, again. And that was driving him crazy.

 

' **BEEEEP** ' Tony said, imitating an alarm. 'The polygraph says that your nose will grow, Capsicle.' There was a moment of silence while the Captain looked at him with a blank expression. 'What?' Tony blurted out 'You didn't get that reference?'

 

Natasha laughed at the comment and Steve rolled his eyes.

 

'You know what would make you good?' Natasha intervened.

 

 _Don't say it. Please, don't say it._ Steve thought, closing his eyes.

 

'A date'.

 

_She has said it._

'Nat...'

 

'Why don't you ask Sharon out?' the redhead asked innocently.

 

Steve sighed. Despite what everyone believed, including Sharon herself for what it seemed, he didn't see anything more than a colleague, another agent, and the granddaughter of the woman he had come to love 70 years ago. Of course she attracted him, but _it was_ for her resemblance to Peggy Carter. No more no less. And he didn't want that in a relationship. He wanted love, true love, not an attraction created by the ghosts of the past.

 

'Hey, wait a moment,' Tony interjected, rasing an eyebrown and looking at him with a smirk. 'How I didn't know about that? You lucky bastard!' Tony pointed then to Natasha, who seemed more than pleased with herself. 'Nat, you've gotta tell me everything!'

 

And that moment, the Captain's glass almost overflowed. He tried to calm himself down and looked at his two friends.

 

'I haven't told you anything, Tony, because there's _nothing_ to tell,' Both gave him the 'I-don't-believe-a-single-word-you-are-saying' look. Steve sighed, again. It was gonna be a really long night. 'Listen, I just don't-'

 

Steve's dialogue was abruptly cut off by the sound of what he recognized as country music (or at least, for what it looked to him as country from what he had listened. At his time, it wasn't called that. Just music from the South.) He looked up and saw a stunning, beautiful girl that left him breathless. She seemed to be very young, even more than him. He was just 23, but maybe she hardly reached the 20s.

 

She had big, bright, (c/e) eyes shining with joy, (h/l) (h/c) hair and soft (s/c) skin. She was wearing a white strapless dress that ended just above her knees and a dark blue acoustic guitar in her hands.

 

The instrumental of the song seemed to come from speakers on stage, since no one else was up there with her, at least it seemed to him like that; it was hard to say, because the back was completely dark.

 

The sound of the guitar that she was carrying began to ring around the bar, and then… then he heard her voice. A sweet, melodic voice which sang with feeling.

 

The song was about having hope and fight till the end, about never giving up. And Steve just could stare at her, completely mesmerized by her. He was briefly aware of Tony calling him, shaking him by the shoulders, but he put a hand up, asking his friend to leave him alone while the song lasted.

 

At the end of the song, she changed the lyrics: while she had been singing all the way in 'present' tense, then she started to do it in 'past'. And then she was claiming about how the battle the song talked of had been won.

 

While the music faded off, a girl with wavy golden hair and blue bright eyes went up the stage and hugged her. Everyone who was in the bar started clapping like crazy, Steve stronger than anyone, cheering her with a huge smile.

 

Natasha, who hadn't lost sight of him while the young woman sang, noticed the excitement in the eyes of the Captain. That was not the way he looked at Shannon. It was ... it was almost like the way she looked at Clint when no one was present. She smiled to herself and moved, no one noticing her slipping away.

 

Steve followed her with his eyes when he saw her get off the stage, but suddenly she disappeared into the crowd of the bar. He frowned and sighed looking at his hands, out of his trance.

 

'She's pretty,' a voice said next to him. Steve almost choked on his whiskey and Sam burst out laughing, patting the back of his friend.

 

'I-I wansn't- I just- Can't- I mean, I didn't- ' Steve stammered, her cheeks turning into a light shade of pink.

 

'Hey, man' Sam whispered. 'It's okay if you think she's pretty. And... Wow!' Sam raised his eyebrows in an incredulous gesture. 'What a voice'.

 

'It's good you two think that, because she's right here.'

 

Both friends turned around to see Natasha with a hand on the girl's shoulder, a broad smile on her face. Steve's jaw dropped slightly before he came out of his stupor.

 

'I'm Steve, Steve Rogers, ma'am,' the Captain said, standing and putting out a hand.

 

She shook his hand, smiling as she looked straight into his blue eyes, as deep as the sea.

 

'I'm (y / n), (y / n) (l / n)'.

 

Steve smiled. Little did he know that three days later he would have to face Ultron, but always with her presence in the back of his mind.

 

At least, until the final battle, where everything changed _again_.


	2. Didn't see that coming?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey!  
> Sorry for taking too long to update, I was out of Wi-Fi while I was on vacation. But I'm back!  
> Thanks to all the people who left kudos in the last chapter :) and especially to Ladyplier for letting a comment and for offered herself to be my beta! Hope she contacts me soon, so the rest of you don't have to read any grammar mistake  
>  (Sorry again, english isn't my mother tongue, you know :c)
> 
> Hope you like the chapter!:) And let me know what you think, any feedback is appreciated, and since this is my first read insert I'd like to know if I'm doing it well ^^

Before being riddled with bullets, Clint Barton was already having a bad day.

 

Well, actually, that was an understatement. He wished it had been _just_ a day. The last moment of rest was when they had spent the night at the bar, three days before that madness had begun, when the Captain had known that girl he kept thinking about.

 

While they all had been on the run, going after Ultron, they had made a break at the house of his sister, Laura, and his nephews on the farm that had belonged to their grandparents back in their day, in the middle of nowhere. That made him think of having a family, about Natasha and their strange relationship as partners. And that in turn had only served to lower further his mood, as if going after a killer robot was not enough.

 

Then Natasha had been abducted because he hadn't been where he should've at the right time.

 

Steve had arrived followed by the Maximoffs... and he'd wanted to scream.

 

They had worked for _HYDRA_ , then for _Ultron_ , and they had hurt **not only** Nat, but the rest of the Avengers, AND STEVE 'I-HAVE-ALWAYS-TO-TURN-THE-OTHER-CHEEK' ROGERS BROUGHT THEM ON BOARD?

 

And the best: after rescuing Nat, he had been asked to take care of the twins, Weird Kid I and Weird Kid II (also known as Speedy Gonzales), and everything got even worse. Something he did not think possible.

 

Yeah, both of the twins had joined them at the final battle along with Vision. That would be good, if it wasn't for the fact that the Avengers were now increased in three members and, still, they were losing.

 

So there he was, hugging that little boy who couldn't be more than 10, just like Cooper, his oldest nephew. When Clint had seen the child's mother crying, he hadn't doubted: he had to go back the city and take him back to her.

 

And now he was going to die.

 

He closed his eyes, protecting the child with his body... and then he heard the shots.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Since he was little, Pietro Maximoff had loved running. He could never sit still, and the feeling of going _that_ fast his feet barely touched the ground, as if flying, was indescribable.

 

After their parents died, hatred had accumulated inside of him. And when years later he had presented with his sister before HYDRA, so Strucker experimented on them, he hadn't really been surprised to discover what powers he had been granted.

 

The difference between the moment they had been able to go out of the experiment's room (only about two weeks ago) and now, was that he knew for what he had to use them. He was with the good guys. Because he wasn't the villain... He didn't want to either.

 

He wanted to be a hero.

 

And so, when he saw the first Avenger he had met in person, Hawkeye, had come down from SHIELD's Helicarrier to save that child and was about to get killed by Ultron, he knew he couldn't allow it. He had to save them, he could not let them die.

 

Pietro could not let _him_ die, for the sister he had heard the others talk about. Just the way Clint wouldn't let him die, for Wanda.

 

And he wouldn't.

 

He heard the bullets and ran faster than he had ever done before, feeling the friction against his skin, the wind in his face. He used the potential energy generated for his fast movements and transformed it into mechanical, applying it to send a car in front of Clint and that little kid. Then he was aware that he wouldn't have enough time for getting out of the bullets' way; he felt a hollow dull pain in the heart. He didn't want to die, not so young and not so... soon. But there was nothing he could do about it. Giving up, he embraced his destiny and closed his eyes.

 

' _Forgive me, Wanda_ ' Pietro thought, clenching his jaw and waiting for the pain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But it never came.

 

' _Am I dead_?'

 

After a minute, he opened his eyes and saw Clint looking from the car to him a couple of times, slowly releasing the child.

 

A dark skinned, strong build S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with brown eyes came running. He was shaved and had little beard; he was alert, and his eyes were suspicious, looking around nervously. The kind of look that Clint, Nat and Steve had for some time after the fall of SHIELD, after discovering that for years they had worked with traitors, people who were loyal to HYDRA. The difference was that, in them, little by little, it had gone missing; in that man, still remained.

 

He looked at Clint and showed him his badge: Agent Mackenzie. It was a new kind of badge, it hadn't the level the agent belonged to and Hawkeye wondered when that had changed. How S.H.I.E.L.D. had had time to make new IDs? The organization, for all the Avengers knew, had pretty much sank like the Titanic because of HYDRA, and they hadn't regrouped till now... Right?

 

After a moment, Clint handed the child to Mackenzie, knowing he had to find the others but the boy needed to be safe.

 

'Take him to the Helicarrier, please.'

 

The agent nodded, putting the child in his arms.

 

'That's done.'

 

Mackenzie gave Hawkeye one last look that made the hairs on Pietro's neck put on edge. He hadn't liked it. And Clint hadn't either.

 

He wanted to ask who was the head of his team, but before the archer could open his mouth, the piece of earth they were standing shook and the agent had left off.

 

Shaking his head, Clint came from behind the car and looked at Pietro.

 

'You shouldn't have done that, Speedy.' Hawkeye frowned. 'Don't get me wrong but... why aren't you _dead_?'

 

In other circumstances, Pietro would've been offended, but the fact is that he was wondering the same question.

 

'I don't know.'

 

'I think I do.' Natasha's voice echoed among the collapsed buildings of the city. They turned around to see good part of the Avengers: the Black Widow, who had managed to get there that fast being carried by the Hulk (which made Clint frown), Captain America, Falcon and War Machine. They all had come from different places and in different ways, but all with the same incredulous face when they saw the scene.

 

After hearing Wanda's agonized cry, they thought Pietro was dead. To make matters worse, Clint was nowhere to be seen. But even if that was the case, if they two were dead, they had to find their bodies.

 

Wanda had gone after Ultron, followed after a few moments by Vision; and Tony and Thor were trying to keep the city a few minutos more up in the sky while their friends were rescued and the Helicarriers took in the civilians.

 

 

'I think it's because of her,' Natasha nodded forward and both Pietro and Clint turned their heads at once.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Steve was barely aware of what Natasha said. He was too focused on the vision before him.

 

A few hundred meters, on the rubble of one of the buildings, there was a female figure. Still she had outstretched hands when they saw her for the first time, with some sparks coming off the fingertips of her small, delicate hands.

 

When she lowered them, Steve could get a better view of her.

 

She was wearing black high combat boots, ripped jeans with a gun at her waist hanging on a belt of studs and a dark jacket with two blood red arrows on the shoulders, pointing down. At the front of the jacket, at heart level, there were the letters CS, the same color as the arrows on the shoulders. Despite its appearance almost normal, Steve was almost certain that the jacket was as strong as a bulletproof vest.

 

Her face was covered till her nose with a mask, similar to which Bucky had worn as the Winter Soldier; her head was covered by a hood that only left out a few strands of hair. However, being so far he couldn't discern the color.

 

Steve found himself admiring the way that clothes fit every curve of her body, and, when he realized of it, felt ashamed for thinking that way about a woman, especially with (y/n)'s image in his mind, a blush rising fast to his cheeks.

 

'VWho are you?' Pietro asked, his accent becoming more prominent in his state of confusion.

 

The girl looked at him. Didn't bother to reply his question, and turned around.

 

But Steve knew that Pietro wouldn't let her go. _Oh, no_. She had saved his life, he would want at least to know why.

 

In the blink of an eye, Pietro was in front of the girl. He picked her up and headed back to the Avengers, stopping to less than twenty meters from them, all in seconds. He gave her a lopsided grin without releasing her yet, and Steve felt some kind of rage inside, wanting to wipe the smile in Pietro's face.

 

Another earthquake, even stronger, shook the ground, but the Maximoff boy ignored it.

 

'I bet you didn't see t-'

 

Before he could say anything else, there was a sound like when there is a short circuit and Pietro had flown about 100 meters, slamming against a wall. The jaws of everyone present could've scratched the floor, and it was a miracle that some eyes didn't change their role in life by rolling on the ground like golf balls, cause they were bulging.

 

After that last quake, Wanda had passed over them in the arms of Vision, both of them going to a safe place. The young heroine was there in time to see how his brother was beaten and felt murderous rage.

 

 

'PIETRO!' she shouted, trying to leave the arms of her companion; Vision stopped his flying, but didn't come down. This was not time for another fight.

 

 

'I fear that Tony and Thor will not hold much, my friends. We must leave while we still have time- '

 

 

'TIME? THAT GIRL HAS ATTACKED MY VBROTHER' Wanda shouted, her hands glowing red.

 

'Actually, she saved his and Clint's lives,' Sam intervened, pulling down the glasses of his suit and bowing his head to one side as he studied her, still incredulous, trying to decipher how she had done... everything.

 

 

Wanda frowned then, the red in her hands fading away as she remembered that after reading his brother's thoughts and see what he saw, she had thought he would die.

 

 

'Really? And vwhy...?'

 

 

'He lifted her off her feet,' Rhodey replied.

 

'And then he flirted with her.' Clint shook his head, but with a half smile on his face. That girl, whoever she was, had saved their lives and knocked out Pietro. She'd earned his respect, and very nearly his eternal love. 'She didn't like it much.'

 

 

Wanda rolled her eyes and glared at his brother, who was getting up from the ground, his eyes still blurred and confused.

 

 

'You're an idiot, Pietro.'

 

'I JUST VWANTED TO THANK HER!' Pietro complained, rubbing his neck and grimacing. 'That vwas hard.'

 

'BOYS, SORRY FOR BEING A KILLJOY, BUT YOU'VE GOTTA REACH THE HELICARRIERS. NOW.' Tony shouted for the intercoms.

 

The Captain took a hand to his earpiece and nodded.

 

'We are carrying someone else with us, Stark'.

 

'WHATEVER, BUT NOW.'

 

All they set off for the Helicarrier, a couple of hundreds of metres away, just a quick run, except Natasha and Pietro, still on ground, and Wanda and Vision, who weren't in several danger since Vision was flying. They were waiting for Steve as he approached the girl.

 

Pietro stayed because of the girl, who had pretty much fascinated him; Wanda, because of her brother, and that added Vision too. And the Black Widow... Natasha knew she was in danger for not going back with the Hulk, but that girl had saved his partner's life, and she paid her debts. She wouldn't leave her there to die. She had made sure Clint left to the Helicarrier with the others, tho. She didn't want him to be away of anyone's sight until she knew he wasn't hurt.

 

When Steve was beside the young woman, he raised his hands to show he did not want to hurt her, but the girl seemed more than relaxed.

 

'Thank you for saving my mates. You've got great skills there.' She just stared at him, not saying a word. Steve hesitated. 'You're in danger here, ma'am. I shall ask you to come with us.'

 

Still, there was no response.

 

'Do you speak my language, ma'am?'

 

There was a huge explosion before them, and Wanda and Vision started to move to the Helicarriers.

 

'WE CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE, CAPTAIN. TONY GAVE US BARELY FIVE MINUTES, WE HAVE 30 SECONDS LEFT.'

 

Pietro hesitated, his hands almost on Black Widow's figure, just in case he had to take her to the Helicarrier.

 

'Steve?' Nat asked him in an apparently indifferent tone.

 

But he was frozen, paralyzed. After the explosion right before them, the girl had stumbled down towards him. He had grabbed her by the arms (not missing the gunshot wound at the elbow's lower crease), avoiding her fall, and he had seen her eyes, taking his breath away.

 

Beautiful, big, deep, bright, (e/c) eyes.

 

He knew that eyes from somewhere, but couldn't remember from where. She put a hand almost in his chest, there was a spark and then he was flying through the air, reaching the place where his friends stood. Pietro's and Nat's arms caught him.

 

The girl said something in another language, to which surprisingly Nat burst out laughing, and then had disappeared running.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Once they all were back at the Helicarrier, the four of them explained to the rest of the team what had happened.

 

Thor had no ever heard of that kind of powers, so there went the option of her being an Asgardian.

 

Tony, meanwhile, was delighted with the idea of a young girl kicking Sonic and Capsicle's asses.

 

Wanda just felt enormously grateful.

 

'She had savved my brother, I don't care about anything else,' she stated, giving a look around, making sure Fury wasn't listening. The last she wanted was to get that girl in trouble.

 

Then an idea struck the Captain's mind and he turned to face at the group from the window where he was.

 

'Nat, what did she say that make you laugh that much? I mean, before we headed to the Helicarrier.'

 

Bruce, back on himself, raised an eyebrow looking at the cup of tea in his hands.

 

'You mean after you flew through the air like a rag doll?'

 

Pietro chuckled at Bruce's audacity.

 

'Oh, shut your mouth Pietro,' Wanda snapped with a wave of her hand. 'She almost left you unconscious.'

 

Steve sighed, holding the bridge of his nose.

 

'Let's go back to the topic,' Tony intervened, raising his hands. 'I have a question, why the rest didn't understand her?'

 

'They didn't understand her because she spoke in Latin,' Natasha said with a huge smile. At that, Tony snorted. He had almost forgotten that Latin was within the languages spoken by Natasha, at least according to her false resume when she started to work for him as 'Natalie'.

 

'I do not care the language she spoke in,' Steve frowned. 'I want to know _what_ she said.'

 

Natasha gave him a grin.

 

'She said: You didn't see _that_ coming?'


	3. A Really Fun Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You did a decision, and now you have to face the consequences... which are a blonde and very angry best friend and hurt ribs. Talking with her, memories of that first night come back to your mind. 
> 
> Meanwhile, SHIELD has other things in mind.

You ran as fast as you could, feeling the ground shaking beneath your feet. Pieces of the surrounding buildings were falling down while you were trying to avoid them or stop them with a wave of hand.  You had seen in his eyes he remembered yours, but he hadn't tied up loose ends, had he?

 

'Lots of people have (e/c) eyes, right?' you muttered under your breath for yourself, raising both hands in front of you at once, opening a hole in the wall that held you back and moving forward.

 

' _What if he had?_ ' said a voice in your head. ' _Like I care... They're the Avengers, they're... S.H.I.E.L.D._ '

 

Before this last thought you couldn't avoid grimacing, despite your mask. That made you think of how angry James would be if he discovered his old mask was gone. Not because he had any love for the damn thing (quite the opposite, actually), but because he was smart enough to find out where it was. That wouldn't be good, and you liked your head where it was, thanks very much.

 

You stopped in your track, hearing an explosion at your back, and you thought it had the ability to get to the core of the Earth. You turned around, seeing the farthest buildings begin to fall one after another while an energy wave swallowed them.

  
  


You swallowed hard, feeling as if your heart was to leave your chest.  
  


'Fuck my life,' you stated loudly.

 

'Not yet,' a voice screamed from your right side.

  
  


Smiling a little, you started to run again in said direction as a pale boy with curly brown hair, brown eyes and sweaty face ran towards you. Thank God he had realized something was going wrong. The buildings four streets away collapsed, sending quakes through the road where you were, and you still had 50 metres left from him.

 

The buildings two streets away fell too. Twenty metres. Just a little more of effort. Your friend reached out a hand in your direction and, while the energy's wave reached your position, you jumped and grabbed him with all your strength.

 

You felt a sharp pain in your side but then the world around you dissolved, feeling your insides strangely compressing and then returning to its initial state as both of you fell hard on your backs in a very different place.

 

You could feel the burning in your ribs, but that mattered very little. Both of you had come out alive. And that was great. You let out a shaky laugh, which caused him to look up at you as if you were crazy -which, you had to admit, wasn't entirely untrue.

  
  


'Never so glad to see you, Dave.'

  
  


'Love you too, (y/n)'.

 

You started to sit up but the pain in your ribs left you breathless, causing you to fall on your back again. You tried to keep a blank face, but Dave had heard your gasp and was immediately next to you, wrapping an arm around your waist and helping you up.

 

'I don't need your help, Merlin.' You told your friend with a teasing note in your voice towards the nickname, at which he snorted. 'Where are we, by the way?'

 

'Just look around,' he replied, a note of nervousness vibrating in the air.

 

A little confused, you did. And then you froze, looking straight in the blue eyes of a very, very angry young woman with long, wavy, golden hair.

 

'Dave, you know what I said before?'

 

'Yeah?'

 

'I take it back,' you snapped him in a hard, emotionless voice.

 

A throat clearing redirected your attention, and you sighed, looking at her.  She looked at you back with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for an explanation.

 

You tried to smile weakly.

  
  


'Hey, Gwen...' you started, looking at your best friend since you... had been able to be you, who looked angrier than ever. 'I promise, it's a _really fun_ story.'

  
  


* * *

 

_'You should've seen yourself up there, you've been amazing!' Gwen had exclaimed as she descended the stairs of the stage with you, one of her arms around your shoulders. While then, the people at the bar congratulated you for your performance, giving you pats on the back. You faked a smile._

_'Remind me again why I let you talk me into this,' your muttered under your breath._

_'Because I have great capacities of conviction, it's my birthday and you love me,' she said._

_You gave her a glare._

_'Try again.'_

 

__'Oh c'mon (y/n)!' she exclaimed in exasperation. 'You're so happy every time you play, it's like everything around you just disappears... I wanted to see you like that again.'_ _

 

_Your lips curled slightly at the corners, showing the shy ghost of a real smile._

_'I don't say this very often, but I love you, Gwen.'_

_'I know,'  she had whispered, squeezing your shoulder gently. Her blue eyes sparkled with humor then.  'I mean, it's me after...' The blonde paled slightly and her voice trailed off as she looked over your shoulder, 'all'_ _she finished._

_You turned on your heels, following the direction of her gaze, meeting directly with a pair of piercing green eyes drilling yours._

_The woman had medium-length, fire red hair that danced over her neck, as the flames of a bonfire. She was clearly in shape and had a fierce and confident smile._

_'Hello,' she greeted with a voice that sounded strong and firm. 'My name is Natasha Romanoff.'_

_You knew her. The Black Widow, ex-KGB agent, agent of SHIELD, Avenger. She was lethal._

_And you knew that because you were too._

_After all, you had been trained to be like her. Something you knew you couldn't even dream to reach, she was the most deadly assassin ever existed._

_She gave you a little smile. It seemed genuine. But you didn't believed it was, after all spies are trained for that sort of thing._

  
  


_'I've got some friends there,' she said jerking her thumb over her shoulder at a group of people. The Avengers. Everyone of them. Even their friends and collegues, you knew about because of the files you've collected over the years, were there. Fuck. 'We love your song and I think they would like to meet you.'_

  
  


_You blinked a few times, really surprised at the unexpected compliment._

  
  


_'Oh' you breathed. 'I- Well, I would, but-'_

  
  


_'SHE WOULD LOVE TO!' Gwen said, grinning from ear to ear._

  
  


_In shock, you turned your head around, looking at her with an almost homicidal expression._

  
  


_'I would?'_

  
  


_'Of course!' she cheered again, excited. She grabbed one arm of yours and pulled you in that direction, both followed by a very amused Natasha. The redhead put a hand on your shoulder and led you where two young men were sat, giving their backs to you, one pale and blond, the other tanned skin and dark hair, while Gwen shouted 'Enjoy!' from behind you and you thought you'd get your revenge somehow._

_Natasha introduced you and you tried to smile sweetly. You didn't need to pretend it before the Captain tho, who seemed to be kinda lost in time with that old fashioned manners. You wondered if he would feel out of place very often._

  
  


_Before you knew it, you found yourself alone with Steve. But you barely noticed it, and you didn't care. Perhaps the night would not be so bad after all._

 

* * *

 

Being in front of Gwen in just your bra would have made you being ashamed if not for a) the fact that your body, since childhood, had been exposed to strangers and b) at least  with Gwen you knew each other and you trusted her.

 

If you had got used to these strange people looking at you (when not doing other things much, much worse), how could you be bothered  by her doing so, especially when it was only to help?

  
  


Gwen tapped lightly with a roll of gauze over your wound and you let go a hiss, clenching jaws.

 

'Be still,' your blonde friend commanded.

 

You breathed heavily, a thin layer of sweat upon your (s/c) skin.

 

'That's easy to say, huh?'

 

Gwen sent you a glare and you snorted, but nodded, letting her know you'd behave. She took a bandage then, wrapping it around your ribs carefully, with slow, almost sweet movements. You could tell she was worried, and you felt slightly guilty.

 

'That's what you get when you stick your nose into other people's business,' she stated.

 

You elevated your eyebrows in disbelief, slightly amused by her outburst.

 

'That's for real? Need I remind you _how_ we came to this?' You pointed to you with your thumbs. 'You know who your best friend is, right? Not to mention your boyf-'

 

'AAAH OKAY OKAY OKAY' she interrupted you, her eyes softening a little when you called her 'your best friend'. 'So tell me,' she stormed towards her closet and began rummaging. After a couple of jeans and a hoodie that ended up on the floor, she threw to you a large cotton shirt that you put on. 'What on Earth were you doing there?'

 

'What can I say?' shrugged. 'I have great social skills.'

 

Gwen's face poked out from behind the door, giving you the 'do not give me that crap' look, so typical of all of the members of the Stacy family. You've always thought it should come with the DNA, along with the blond hair.

 

'Yeah,' she answered, the irony evident on her voice. 'And back in high school Flash was the most pleasant person you'd ever meet.'

 

You took one hand to your chest in an offended gesture, looking "hurt".

  
'How rude!'

 

She left out a small laugh while returning to your side and sat down in front of you. The tension was palpable, so thick you could cut it with a knife.

  
  


'Are you going to say something?' You asked when you couldn't stand the silence and her searching look anymore. 'I will come out gray here.'

  
  


'Can you tell me how the hell did you manage to convince Dave to take you there? And why did you do it? I thought we said that, _if_ we did intervene, we would _only_ at the last moment, if the Avengers couldn't handle it. And I thought I specifically asked you to _stay_ here. '

 

'Well, I hate being told what to do, so I ignored you. And it was a last moment situation,' you replied.

 

Gwen sighed. She stroked her own temples with her eyes closed, as if trying to mitigate a very bad migraine.

 

'They're _S.H.I.E.L.D._ , (y/n)' she reminded you softly. 'You're the first one who's never wanted to get involved with them.'

 

You bit your bottom lip, nodding.

  
  


'I know,' you said with low voice. 'I just couldn't let Ultron hurt that people. I had a bad feeling, so I asked Dave to take me there... I've saved lives today, Gwen. Like we always do.'

 

Your friend pursed her lips in a thin line, now looking at you without anger. She never could be mad at you, especially in that kind of situations.

  
  


'Let's change the subject, okay?' She threw herself on the bed, bouncing over the mattress, and then looked at you with a devilish grin. She rested her chin on her palm and blinked repeatedly, as if she were a high school's freshman instead of a student who had just finished the first year of college. 'Won't you like the almighty Captain America?'

  
  


You looked at her blankly, frowning in confusion.

  
  


'Excuse me?'

  
  


She burst out laughing.

  
  


'Didn't you hear me?' she teased you. 'You know, the strong, tall, nice, blond and blue-eyed men, whose name is Steve Rogers, you know, that other night at the bar. After he heard you sing. And play guitar.' She sighed happily. 'I can't imagine anything more romantic.'

  
  


You raised both eyebrows at once.

  
  


'You've gotta be kidding me.'

  
  


She sent you a glare and smiled for herself, giggling.

  
  


'Whatever you say,' she said with a sing-song voice before a pillow ended up on her face. When it fell, she fulminated you with her eyes, blowing her bangs out of her face. 'That wasn't funny.'

 

'May I remind you, you are the one who dragged me to the damn site, and then to the damn stage because you made sure of carrying my freaking guitar? You even went up to hug me in front of everyone!' you exclaimed, counting with your fingers. 'And after that, when the redhead-'

 

'The Black Widow, Natasha,' Gwen interrupted you, but you just rolled your eyes and ignored her.

 

' _The redhead_ ,' you repeated, 'came, you almost made me go with her at gunpoint! What was I supposed to do?'

 

'Say what you want, but to me, it seems promising,' she declared, taking her cell phone and starting to text to God knows who. 'I mean, you've risked your life for _his_ team today.'

 

'One, I did it for the civilians. And two, you've seen too many Jennifer Aniston's movies,' you commented as you walked out the door and into the bathroom, ending that nonsense conversation.

  
  


Maybe it was your imagination, but you thought you heard Gwen mumble something like: 'I won't deny it, just hope that the end is like those movies.'

  
  


* * *

 

 

_**A week after the final battle against Ultron, at the 'Real' S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters** _

 

The surroundings of what was left of the city of Sokovia, shown on television under the title 'Crisis averted', were completely in ruins: crumbling buildings, cracks several meters thick and deep in the pavement, death everywhere...

  
  


' _Cleanup crews work hard in Sokovia, trying to get back to normal,_ ' commented the reporter with the flat voice of those who hadn't had to deal with such tragedies in first person, the ones who told these kinds of things to the viewers everyday.

  
  


But for Phil Coulson, director of SHIELD, every tragedy was lived in first person, and the acceptable number of casualties was zero. Unfortunately, lately it seems they were never getting that box fill in the requirements file.

 

Turning away from television, Coulson threw the card of the Theta protocol, attached to a dark blue SHIELD band, on the large metal table in the center of the room. The eyes of the agents Gonzales, Oliver and Weaver focused on it, while Bobbi's and May's looked at him.

  
  


'The cards on the table,' Phil commented as calm as ever, though his blue eyes were piercing the agents before him.

  
  


'Clearly Fury and you have been entertained,' Gonzales replied deadly serious.

  
  


Agent Coulson couldn't help smiling. Unknowingly, Robert could not have been more correct. A helicarrier wasn't an easy thing to hide from the world.

  
  


'What am I going to say?' He shrugged. 'I am a loyal man. With the fall of SHIELD, Fury felt we needed a fail-safe. Something completely off the books, a 'break in case of emergency' type of thing'.

 

'Well, it seems you have broken it,' Agent Weaver intervened with a tone charged with arrogance, raising a delicate eyebrow.

  
  


Bobbi turned her head in her direction so fast that her blond hair almost hit Gonzales.

  
  


'To save many people,' she reminded her sharply, where upon the expression of Weaver changed, looking a little embarrassed.

  
  


The dark-skinned woman glanced down while Agent Oliver addressed to Morse a sharp look, but said nothing.

  
  


'Last week difficult things happened, I know. I'm aware of that.' Coulson chuckled, looking guiltily to May, who stared back from the wall where she was leaning. 'When I found out that this ship hadn't succumbed to the attack of HYDRA, and still had that cargo on board...' Phil shook his head, his eyes wandering from one agent to another. 'That you had put spies in my base, that I couldn't guarantee the safety of my team!' Coulson took a deep breath before continuing: 'I felt I had failed as a director.'

  
  


That last sentence made May lift her head and look up to her friend; it was true that he had hidden things from them, but the last thing Melinda ever wanted for Phil was for him to feel that way. It felt so wrong...

  
  


'And the truth ... is that.' Phil let out a bitter laugh. 'The command coup makes you think so. I tried to do everything alone,' and this time, Melinda knew he was speaking specifically for her, it was his way of apologizing, acknowledging that he was wrong as a director before all the ' _other S.H.I.E.L.D_.' directive. 'And it was a mistake. Even Fury had a World Council to ensure him, advising him. '

  
  


And, of course, Gonzales hadn't ignored what Phil had highlighted.

  
  


'What are you suggesting?'

  
  


'A SHIELD where I operate as Director,' said Coulson, looking at them. 'Under your supervision.'

  
  


Bobbi masked her look of surprise quickly, glancing at Gonzales, who in turn was scrutinizing the reaction of all the agents in the room.

  
  


'We would have a good clandestine base ... and a ship,' Coulson stated with his typical condescending tone.

  
  


After a moment, the old gray-haired man glanced at Phil.

  
  


'It's hard to argue with a man who prevented Ultron from killing thousands of people,' Gonzales replied, quietly acceding to the request of Phil. 'But there are many battles to win,' he frowned with concern, leaning on the dark wood cane he had to be used ever since the attack of HYDRA. 'And closer to home, I fear. Ones an Helicarrier will not solve.'

  
  


Phil sighed audibly.

  
  


'Are you talking about Skye or about the Inhumans?' Coulson asked, turning to the table and taking a remote control, pointing to the TV. He played a few buttons and in the screen appeared a blur that had been recorded by the Helicarrier in Sokovia. Once they had seen it, Hill had sent them to him inmediatly.

 

'Who cares, Coulson?' Weaver replied. 'That protected girl of yours ...'

 

'Skye is one of us,' Bobbi snarled, her blue eyes nailing Weaver on the site.

 

Weaver was about to reply, but May gave her a look that silenced her immediately.

 

'I was talking about the Inhumans, Coulson' Gonzales intervened, trying to cool the mood. 'But I don't see how that matters.'

 

Coulson pressed the 'advance button', noting the time when Pietro tried to save the life of Clint. The bursts of gunfire raised a cloud of dust that made impossible to see anything and there were several murmurs.

  
  


An Avenger had died in battle? No, they were all alive.

  
  


Had Fury resuscitated someone again?

 

However, when the smoke cleared, both Pietro and Clint (and the boy in his arms) were perfectly fine, which was impossible. Coulson paused the video, going back again.

  
  


He pressed the zoom and the full SHIELD directive watched as a figure raised his/her hands, making the bullets bounced or diverted its path before reaching Clint and Pietro.

  
  


'It matters because it seems we have an 0-8-4, there's another human with powers out there,' Coulson retorted. Before the expressions of astonishment, he smiled with joy. 'It's like New Mexico all over again.'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!
> 
> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER!! YOU ALL MADE ME VERY HAPPY WITH ALL THE KUDOS, AND THANKS FOR THE COMMENTS :)
> 
> AND THANKS TO MY AWESOME BETA, LADYPLIER! Thank you for reading this before anyone and fixing my mistakes :))
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you all liked this chapter. Have you recognized any character? I mean ... you all know who is Gwen, right? And what means she's here... * wink wink *
> 
> Have you identified any other Marvel character? If so, let me know!   
> Hint: One of them has just been named, and perhaps you may know by another name.
> 
> Any feedback is welcome to help me improve, and it makes me really happy to see people take some of their time to write me a sentence or two, so feel free to comment or just say Hi! c:
> 
> See you soon!


	4. When you go, would you even turn...?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers are facing now the consequences of the fight with Ultron.   
> You find yourself in another face-to-face with them, along with one of your closest friends...

'So, vwhere are vwe going?' Pietro asked while he walked through the New York streets, Wanda by his side, with the rest of the Avengers.  

 

'Oh, you'll see Speedy, you'll see,' Tony replied, a childish smile on his face. 'It's a place Capsicle over there loves with all his heart, right, soldier?'

 

That made them all laugh, except Steve for obvious reasons, Pietro and Vision. After a moment, Wanda had read Stark's mind and couldn't help but giggle. She just couldn't imagine the almighty Captain America, the head, the leader of the Avengers, Earth Mightiest Heroes, being that embarrassed for the mere fact of being next to a girl. It was so cute.

 

From Tony's point of view, the Scarlet Witch had been able to see the Captain's face all red, stammering but someway relaxed next to a young, pretty girl. But from Steve's, she saw a girl that couldn't be considered anything other than purely beautiful. Specially when it came to the eyes, the part of that girl Steve thought most of.

 

She thought that it indeed made sense. The eyes are the mirrors of the soul, after all, and if she had to judge yours from the look in your eyes, she bet her powers it was as beautiful as you.

 

The european girl moved closer to Natasha, who had turned out to be a great colleague after a few weeks of training as an Avenger and a giant apology for what she had done to her back in Wakanda.  

 

Wanda had been feeling truly guilty lately, and she knew she deserved it. No one of them, even Stark himself, had deserved to see what they did. She had the feeling the Black Widow didn't trust her completely, but she doubted she did with someone, except Clint and maybe the Captain.  

 

However, she wanted to be trusted. She had never had friends, since both of the siblings hadn't stayed around a place long enough to get to know someone, and when that had happened they closed themselves up, so when they eventually had to move, didn't get hurt. The saddest fact is, that lack of relations in her past, now weighed on her shoulders: She wanted to make friends, specially with Nat since she was the any other girl in the team, but Wanda didn't know how. And to be honest, she was a little scared of being rejected.

 

'VWhat's going on vwith the (h/c) haired girl?' she asked in a whisper.

 

The redhead gave her a look, keeping her face blank, and Wanda raised her hands in front of her like an act of defense.

 

'I saw her in your minds' she clarified to the expert assassin.

 

'Why do you want to know?' Natasha said in return, giving her a glare that made the Scarlet Witch flinch a little. However, Wanda was brave, and she wouldn't shrink back.

 

'I regret vwhat I did,' she said in a very low tone while Pietro gave them a very suspicious look from his place next to Thor, who had just come back the day before from his father's realm, to which he had departed right after the fight against Ultron was won. He hadn't told them anything about it yet; instead, there he was, smiling and waving Mjölnir, thundering about some battle back in Asgard. 'I saw that girl vwhen I... vwell, you know. She vwas there, seeing Cap and that other girl dancing. He felt happy vwith her, but then he saw _this_ girl and things... _changed_... in his mind, I mean. Is she important to him?'

 

After a moment, Natasha gave her a tiny smile that made her red lips curl up a little.

 

'She could be if we do things right,' she admitted. Wanda's eyes lighted up.

 

'Count me in'.

 

* * *

 

 

While Thor kept telling them his battles, completely ignoring the hints Stark was shooting him about his trip to Asgard, Pietro looked at the two women.

 

He didn't like anything to be left out of a conversation, and when he saw Wanda's shudder, the speedster was about to intervene, until he heard the voice of Clint.

 

'I wouldn't go for it, kid.' Pietro looked at him curiously and the archer made a gesture with his eyebrows at Natasha. 'First, you do **NOT** know what she is capable of. Second, believe me: I have seen Nat threatening people, and they are just talking. And third,' With a mischievous smile that sent a chill on Pietro's back, Clint cracked his knuckles while winking at him. 'In the unlikely event that you got to approach her, you'd have an arrow on each knee before you even see them out of my quiver.'

 

Pietro paled a little, as he swallowed hard, but then snorted, recovering his usual attitude.

 

'I vwould like to see you try,' replied Quicksilver. Clint's expression completely changed in an instant, laughing and slapping him on the back.

  
  


'You know what? I'm starting to get used to you,' Hawkeye joked. Then, Sam said something about 'the parental instinct of Clint surfacing' and agent Barton frowned, going straight to Falcon, who, of course, had said that to divert Tony's attention from his friend, the Captain.

 

'Ignore them,' Bruce intervened and Pietro looked at him curiously. Except that one time on the plane, back from Sokovia, when he had teased Steve, the scientist had been silent, keeping himself to one side, working on his lab or reading. It was hard to understand how he and his sister could have believed for a moment that someone like Bruce, all quiet and shy, was a threat... until 'the Big Guy' appeared, of course. 'Sometimes they can be kinda annoying ... but you learn to love them. '

 

Pietro nodded thoughtfully.

 

'I think you're right. And guess vwhat? I'm enjoying New York. And the Avengers. It's nice to have a place to stay and enjoy life,' then his face broke into a dazzling smile. 'And the girls here love superheroes!'

 

Bruce chuckled, shaking his head and thinking that the group had won another Casanova. He could take the place of Tony, who was madly in love with Pepper, something no one could deny, even when Stark kept calling himself a playboy.

 

They kept walking, stopping occasionally when someone screamed their names or came to ask for an autograph or photo. The Avengers responded delighted when this happened; and they tried to ignore it when the opposite happened: people watching them suspiciously, hiding their children with their bodies as if at any moment Steve was going to throw his shield or Natasha would shoot them.  
  


After all the times they had gone into action, all the lives that they had saved, many people used to cheer them before, now detested them. Or what was worse: feared them. Being a hero who wants to help and receive in exchange hatred was a truly nightmare.

  
  


After the press conferences of the past few weeks and all the rejection they were getting since the disaster with Ultron, the Avengers were touched.

Each member dealt thereby in different ways, but it was really affecting them although they didn't show it.

  
  


One example of many was Clint with his nephews, whom he had been found out crying a day that he had gone to visit them because their classmates said that 'Hawkeye and his companions were _bad people_ '; or Bruce, who had been yelled down the street ' **MONSTER** ' among other not nice things while the poor scientist dedicated himself to lower his head and went away. Nobody deserved that.

  
  


The least affected should technically be the Maximoffs and Vision, being the new additions to the team (Rhodey and Sam had just been appointed Avengers, but they had helped them in the past and people used to recognize if they were in the scene); however, it wasn't like that _at all_.

  
  


Several videos were leaked, including one where Pietro and Wanda attacked the heroes of New York. That had made them win the title of villains. Wanda had to hear their thoughts, which made everything worse, and Pietro could not do anything to stop it ... The worst thing was knowing that, in part, it was deserved after what the twins had done.

  
  


But the team... they didn't deserve any of this.

 

While Pietro was deep in thought, he heard a cry that made him look up at once. Only three words, spoken by a woman's voice: 'leave me alone'.

 

He looked at his companions. They also had heard her, like the few people on the street that was crowding at the entrance of one of the alleys of Bay Parkway -ones with amused looks on their faces, others with worried ones- keeping a safe distance from whatever was happening but without intervening.

 

Pietro sped up over there immediately, not daring to make a run in front of all those people but going considerably faster than his peers.

 

Upon reaching the alley, he stared at the alley's area which faced another street, where a girl who should be in her early twenties demanded to the man in front of her with a trembling voice to stop following her. The man, a muscular idiot around his thirties with black hair, simply laughed at her.

 

'Don't be like that, sweetie!' he exclaimed, trying to take her by the waist. 'I'm a friend of Ian and he has told us everything about you two... You and I could get a little fun, huh? That dress of yours is not simply to stroll around, don't you think? '

 

Pietro felt his insides boiling and closed his hands into fists, ready to break the jaw of that asshole. He could be drunk, drugged or God knows what, or maybe he was just like that (and dumb enough to do something like that in public), he did not care. He wouldn't let anybody to be treated that way, let alone a woman.

 

Steve, the second to arrive, must have thought so too because he raised his voice when he saw the scene before them.

 

'Hey!' cried the Captain, as several people turned to him and started whispering. He took a few steps forward, not daring to go straight to them, fearing he maybe would hurt her. 'Leave the miss alone. _Now_.'

 

The man raised his eyebrows at him, amused.

 

'And who's going to make me, posh kid?'

 

 _How high is this guy to not recognize Captain America?_ Pietro thought, raising an eyebrow.

 

'Myself,' Natasha replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Pietro hadn't even noticed her, but he was getting used to that. She was _the spy_ , after all. The Black Widow gave him a smirk. 'I could kill you in ten different ways with my pinky.'

 

There was a heavy silence as the man looked at the trio in front of him, the rest of the Avengers keeping their distance, not wanting to put on a show. Three of them was enough, although after hearing him talk, every one of them wanted to rip that pure excuse of a man to shreds. The silence was cut when the girl, who had tried to back away, stumbled and almost lost her balance. He turned to her at once.

 

'How? Are you going to go before the party? ' The Pig-guy (Pietro could not call him otherwise) received a slap straight in the face on the part of the girl when he had attempted to come closer. His face turned red and raised a fist, growling. 'HOW DARE YOU!?'

 

Then several things happened at once:

 

Natasha took out a taser gun from her belt, aiming at him.

 

A very angry Steve shouted: LEAVE HER!

 

And the guy's hand was stopped in the air with one that grabbed his wrist tightly, preventing it from moving.

 

'I think the young lady here has said to leave her alone,' said a girl a little younger than Pietro.

 

He was gladly surprised someone had intervened from the other street, which seconds ago seemed pretty dessert, instead of just stare at the poor girl, as if it was a TV reality. After a moment, he really looked at her: (s/c) skin, (h/c) hair, (e/c) eyes. She was dressed in black ripped jeans, cobalt blue converse and a tank top of a group called 'The Sex Pistols'.

 

Pietro thought she was very beautiful, but then he heard the Captain heard whispering something and he couldn't help turning his head towards him in confusion.

 

'(F / n) ...?'

 

* * *

 

You were at the park with some of your friends: Gwen, Peter, Quentin and ... well, although you hated to admit it, _Flash_. Yes, the same Flash Thompson had bullied you and Peter at school. The twists and turns of life. When Gwen had defended Peter, he had begun to behave better; which it had been definitive after Uncle Ben's death.

 

He had called Peter to inform him that he was on leave for a few days, and you all had agreed to meet with him to talk about life and that sort of things.

 

The boys were playing basketball. You had united them you for awhile, until you decided that was enough and wanted something to drink. You drove off down the street, to a grocery store where you usually bought the drinks. You were about to pay a large bottle of orange soda when you started to hear the tumult that was forming in the street. Sticking your head to the window, you saw a girl backing toward the wall while a high-built man approached her.

  
You went over there right away, watching as the man was getting more and more violent. You felt anger, you had never supported the cowards who used their strength against those who couldn't defend themselves. _Who did he think he was?_

 

Before thinking about what you were doing, your hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.

 

'I think the young lady here has said to leave her alone,' you indicated in a calm voice.

 

'(F / n) ...?' When you heard that whisper, you moved your view of the enormous idiot in front of you and saw sky blue eyes and golden hair.

 

'Steve?'

 

Leveraging you were distracted, the man made as if he was to stick a fist in your side and you answered using his strength against him, twisting his arm behind his back and raising his whole body over your hip, making him spin in the air and fall to the ground on his back with a blow that even made you shudder. You gave a nod to the girl, who moved to where the Captain was, ipso facto.

 

'What are you doing here?'

 

You put yourself upright as if nothing had happened and gave a couple of steps toward him; he looked at you with wide eyes and mouth slightly open. You were both amused by his reaction and frustrated because it seemed that fate worked against you. That's when you noticed his two companions, and a little behind them, the rest of the Avengers (of who you could recite off memory the greatest achievements of their lives), scattering the few people who remained.

 

'There's nothing here to do!' You heard a man screaming as he pulled a government badge (possibly SHIELD). He had dark blond, spiked hair, blue vibrant eyes and hard features, but the spark in his eyes said he could be a funny guy, not just dangerous. He was Clint Barton aka Hawkeye.

 

You could list each of them, from the billionaire and eccentric Iron Man to, despite his  green and red skin was camouflaged (who knows if by Wanda's magic or any invention of Banner), the creature that had emerged from Stark's laboratory (you didn't know how... yet, but you'd figured it out), Vision.

 

'What a movement...'Natasha muttered, blinking a few times, as she realized what she had just seen. 'Where...?'

 

Natasha was cut when you turned suddenly at feeling a hand on your knee, giving the man a kick to the solar plexus, leaving him breathless. Then you took his hand and fore-arm, twisting it roughly after his back until a crack was heard, indicating with his cry that the shoulder had been put out from its place. He fell to the ground, his face against the asphalt and you on his back, with a knee between the shoulders. Everything happened in just 5-6 seconds, each movement burned into your muscle memory.

 

The man began to whine for help. The stench of alcohol made you wince.

 

'Gym and martial arts for ten years' you answered her not ended question, breathing heavily. You got the phone from the back pocket of his jeans.

 

**'Good afternoon. A man tried to attack a girl... No, no. I've dislocated his shoulder.**

**...**

**Aha.**

**...**

**How is he?'**

 

You tilted your head to one side to see the man's face, which was congested. You came back on the phone with a small smile. 'The sexist pig is moaning like a little bitch against the road.' You heard a powerful laugh followed by someone trying to hide a giggle and you could not help but smile too, if only a little. 'Okay. Thank you.'

 

Hung up and looked at them. Natasha came saying a ‘I got it' and you raised yourself from above the man, pulling your neck and shoulder muscles.

 

Steve was there, looking like a fool. It was one of the new, one of the twins, who broke the silence.

 

'VWow. That vwas incredible,' the silver-blonde haired guy said with a beaming smile that made his blue eyes glisten. Then he winked. 'And I don't mean just your movements'.

 

Steve turned to him immediately, with visibly darkened eyes and clenched jaw. You raised your eyebrows, stunned. Was he angry because the boy was flirting with a civilian?

 

'Pietro...' began the other Maximoff, his sister Wanda. If you remembered correctly, her thing was neuro-electric interfacing, telekinesis and mental manipulation. She was called the Scarlet Witch.

 

Her brother, Quicksilver. He had increased metabolism and improved homeostasis, which translate into superhuman speed, something you could already tell from Sokovia.

 

'Are you still going to the gym?' he kept going and you just nodded. He nodded too with a confident expression. 'Brilliant. VWe could go together. Today I touch biceps and back.'

 

'And the face when, Casanova?' The smile faded from the Pietro's face and he frowned. This time, you were able to identify the roaring laughter: Thor and Tony. Soon, Clint also laughed, and who else who least escaped a smile, including the Captain, trying to press his lips so no one noticed.

 

Pietro seemed to go to speak, but was cut by Natasha returning. You realized that she must've left the guy somewhere for safekeeping.

 

The girl seemed to be just about to faint. You thought it was due to be surrounded by so many superheroes, but her eyes hadn't left you for a moment, and before you knew it, she had thrown herself on you, hugging you.

 

'Thank you,' she whispered in your ear. You returned the hug as you could and smiled.

 

'You're welcome,' you whispered back. 'Now, I think you should get something to eat. You could go into shock. Can someone take you? ' The girl nodded vigorously saying a friend of hers worked down the street on a Restaurant, the place she was going to before. She dedicated you an aqueous but cheerful smile.

 

'Hope to see you again,' she replied, walking towards one of the main streets and turning to lend a glance over her shoulder. You said goodbye to her with a wave of the hand and then you turned to the picturesque group.

 

Before any of you could say anything, Thor made the first movement, putting one knee on the ground and taking your hand in his.

 

'You are a brave woman, Lady (f / n). We saw only once, and were not formally presented. Let me do it now: I am Thor Odinson, from Asgard, son of Odin. And I feel very honored to meet in person someone of your caliber,' after his speech, he kissed your hand and everyone looked at him with wide eyes and then look at you, who tried to hide her laughter. What made it even funnier is that Thor was not armored, but with blue jeans and a white shirt, so there was just the trick as a knight of the Round Table.

 

'Yes, well. As you all know, I'm (f / n) (l / n). From New York, daughter of... my father I guess. Nice to meet you, mate' you stated before giving him a couple of friendly pats on the arm. Thor smiled brightly and rose from the ground, tilting his head again.

  
  


Shaking your head, you made a nod toward Natasha and you decided you didn't want more shows, especially with the new ones. And more with Pietro. Thanks, but _no, thanks_.

 

'So tell me Steve, what is the Scooby Doo gang doing around here?' Steve smiled faintly at you, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  


'We were going to... well, the bar,' he finally admitted. 'I thought maybe you'd play again.'

 

'You thought wrong, then' you said, shrugging, and his face fell. 'I told you I'd maybe play again that next week, but you guys didn't come.' _Thank God_ you added to you. 'It's been _over a month_ , Steve.'

 

'I, I know ...'  he stummered, but was interrupted by Tony.

 

'Honey, don't you watch TV? We were busy saving the world.' And ladies and gentlemen, there was IronAss, being as he usually was.

 

You faked a confused expression, then your eyes lit up as if suddenly you recognized who they were, something they all believed, judging by the reproached looks Stark was getting (mainly from Natasha. _If looks could kill..._ ), the cocky ones ( **cough cough** Pietro **cough cough** ), uncomfortable ones (Dr. Banner, Vision) or sadness mixed with anger ones, which was the case with Steve. He seemed a little hurt that someone had blown his cover in front of you.

 

There were people who still didn't know who the Avengers were, and your card was playing to be one of them.

 

'Of course. _Steve Rogers_...' you muttered under your breath, closing your eyes and biting your bottom lip. Avoid eye-contact made easier to pretend. 'Or should I call you _Captain_?'

  
  


'I...'

  
  


'I can't believe I know the Avengers... that _I'm with the Avengers_.' You shook your head with a disbelieving look plastered on your face. 'Wow.'

  
  


'Hey,' began Sam, aka the Falcon, stepping forward. 'I know you're talking to him and you won't probably give a shit about this, but I'm saying it because I'm sure you've heard a lot about us and that's not the truth _at all_ '.

  
  


'You're right,' you agreed with him. He seemed to relax a little.

  
  


'For real?'

  
  


'Yes, but the point is: **I do not care** ,' You ran a hand through your hair, a gesture designed to appear nervous, but somehow you felt a little guilty at seeing the face of Steve; something that never had happened to you, except with Gwen that time... You sighed, trying to concentrate. 'Look, my friends are waiting for me, makes enough that I've gone and ... "

  
  


'(F / N) !!!!' You turned your head in time to see a tall, handsome guy crossing the street, running towards the group. He had messy brown hair, brown eyes and pale skin. His muscles were well defined and it was obvious that was agile.

 

 _Damn_ , you thought, it wasn't precisely a good time _for him_ to appear.

 

He arrived at your side, still sweaty from the match, and ignored the people you were with.

 

'Hey (f/n), what the hell have happened? You left your phone, you've been gone for like 20 minutes just to buy a drink?' he asked, looking for any kind of threat in your (e/c) eyes.

 

'It's okay, Peter, I just found myself in a little fight-'  

 

'Wait, what!?' he cut you off right there. 'Are you okay? Are you- are you _hurt_?'

 

'She's okay,' Steve stated with a calm, nice tone but Peter turned his body to him, a serious expression on his face.

 

'Excuse me, was I talking to you, huh?' he said, his brown eyes located on the blue ones of the Captain. 'No, I think not'.  
  


'Well, don't take this out of place kiddo. We know her. We were just talking,' Clint interjected then, taking a step ahead to support Steve.

 

Peter snorted.

 

'Yeah EagleMan, you mean like with that killer robot that almost destroys _the whole damn world_?'

 

Tony closed his hands into fists, but Rhodey put a hand on his chest, asking him quietly to keep himself in place.

 

You took one of your friend's hands and squeezed it lightly. He turned his gaze to you and you make a move with your head towards the zone where the park was.

  
  


'Let's go back, Pete' you said, walking away with him by your side. He turned his head and screamed to Clint: 'By the way, the name's Peter Parker, not kiddo!'

 

'Leave them alone,' you retorted him, walking a little faster and pulling him with you.

  
The Captain hoped you would look back at least one last time before going, just so he could see your eyes, to see the same girl he had met... He waited. He hoped .

  
But you... you didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!   
> I want to thank all the people leaving me kudos, bookmarks and comments:) You make me really happy!
> 
> And thanks to my awesome beta, as always, for her amazing work! <3
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter, at least as much as I loved writing it! SPIDER-MAN IS HERE, PEOPLE. WOHOOOOOOOOO!
> 
> Next Chapter we'll see what's going on with Coulson and the Inhumans ;) And maybe is time to get back a 'friend' of the past... Hello, HYDRA.
> 
>  
> 
> That's all for now, guys! Don't be shy to leave me some feedback, any suggestion is welcome, and I'd love to know if you liked the chapter or not, it helps to keep on the work ^^
> 
>  
> 
> See you next time!:)


	5. Everything that can go wrong, will go worse.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You talk with a friend for a little while Natasha in the same moment is taking some favors...
> 
> And for our favorite agents, it's time to take a ride... to the Stark Tower.
> 
>  
> 
> WARNING! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR AGENTS OF SHIELD IN THIS CHAPTER.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being this late...
> 
> My PC broke down (still is) and I had some exams. Btw, sorry for any grammar mistake. My beta is being really busy and couldn't fix'em yet, but this chapter is being done for a couple weeks now and I wanted to give you guys something new, so here it is. When my awesome beta has the chapter fixed, I'll replace it ^^
> 
> Thank you for the comments and the kudos! You guys are the best :)
> 
> ANY FEEDBACK IS APRECIATED!! :) Hope you like the chapter.
> 
> Lots of love for everyone!

"What's up, Sparky?" Quentin said, siting beside you on the bleachers.

 

You looked up at him, reparing on his sweaty face. Your friend was a dark-skined, strong-built man in his early twenties who had already been at war. He had a friendly face, with high cheekbones, long lashes, bright brown eyes which sometimes seem able to look right through you and an always permanent smile. He was two years and a half older than you; and had quit school when you were fourteen to go to a military boarding school. After that, he had enrolled army. He just came back not even a year ago, just eight months.

 

"You've been very thoughtful since you came back with Peter," he stated like a matter of a fact. "And he was quite agitated."

 

You shrugged.

 

"He's always like that".

 

"No, he's not," your friend replied, smiling slightly to himself. He knew you pretty well (he liked to think so at least) and knew better than to pressure you... unless he would want an electric shock, and he didn't. "If you don't want to talk, that's right. Just know I'm here for you".

 

"I know Q," you whispered back. "As I am."

 

Quentin's eyes widened, and his jaw droppred slightly, with a childish bright on the eye.

 

"Oh my God! The Ice Queen has feelings!" he exclaimed with his breath shaking, earning a glare and a hit on the shoulder that made him chuckle.

 

He then extended his hand, making impossible for everyone but you two to see. The water on the atmosphere condensed, flowing from the tips of his fingers, forming an ice rose in his hand with its cold-glass petals shining. He winked at you then, leaving the rose in your lap.

 

He stood up then, resting his right hand on the back of your neck for a moment with the other patting your head.

 

"I'll be your Ice King, pretty girl," he said, giving you the lightest of grips before parting away, walking down the bleachers toward your friends. "Don't forget that."

 

* * *

 

 

Natasha looked at Steve, who was with his shoulders hunched, elbows on knees, and found herself in a particular sour mood.

 

It was not unusual to see Steve tucked into his thoughts. Since she had known him, Captain Rogers had amply demonstrated why him, and not any other, had received the super-soldier serum. Steve was someone who pondered his actions and wasn't swayed by emotions, as that could suppose casualties.

 

However, what was unusual was to see him... defeated. He looked so... sad, broken... rejected. Because that was what he had been: that girl had rejected him, and was not subtle at all.

 

Steve was not in love, of course -she didn't even believe in love, less in love at first sight. But that girl had impressed him. She had a nice voice, almost as much as her herself, and it was all sweetness and light. To see them talk at the bar that night, Natasha had assumed that at least they would enter into friendship, and that was something. After all, she was the first person who wasn't an agent of SHIELD or an Avenger for whom Steve had shown any real interest in a long time.

Steve had explained very excited that the girl used to live near Brooklyin, that she was in college and played guitar since she was twelve because someone close to her had taught her. Also that she would play again in that little bar in about a week, and that she had only played that time because of her blonde friend, the one who had helped Natasha to fulfill her purpose of introducing (Y/n) and Steve to each other.

 

And Natasha was unable to stop the smile that crept into her face. Not her typical scathing smirk, but smile for real... Captain seemed genuinely delighted with her, and the Widow could not help but be proud of her skills as a matchmaker.

 

But then things had been terribly twisted with 'the Ultron issue'... and everything had been ruined. Later they had to train the newbies, plus Fury had asked her - ordered her - to pull up any information about the girl who had saved the life of Clint and Pietro in Sokovia. As in Fury's case, something told her she was alive. And although she didn't like to track her, knowing that she owed her one, she had obeyed.

 

Natasha was a spy -a master in her field- but not a detective. She could search for information, of course, as she had done with the Winter Soldier, who had proved to be Steve's best friend, but track him was more complicated.

 

However, it seemed a breeze compared to this girl. There was nothing in the files of SHIELD or the CIA, or the FBI. Nothing at all. She had found a pair of alleged sightings of a dark figure in some files of the NYPD, a figure that could be her as good as any other, but all the evidence of such -photos sightings, videos- had been eliminated. The girl was a real ghost ... like Bucky in the last year.

 

When Thor was back, Fury had decided to give them a rest. And then Steve had suggested with a smile go to 'drink to celebrate', to that 'bar that Tony took us all before this'.

 

And everything had become a twist again...

 

Although Natasha could not help but respect the young woman for standing up to that piece of an idiot, she had a difficult time controlling her expression, and being who she was, that was saying something.

 

The sweet girl of the bar had disappeared to be replaced by a fierce and rebellious young woman with sarcastic comments and sharp tongue.

 

Had she not read her well when they met for the first time? It was impossible for anyone to stick such a radical change in a month. And yet, she was not able to discern whether the girl had faked her attitude, the first time or the second.

 

She felt her intuition surfacing, saying something was wrong, but she didn't know why. Natasha moved toward her room, her heels clicking on the floor of the Avengers Tower (Or it was again Stark Tower?) and, still walking, she took the phone from the back pocket of her black jeans as she entered the elevator .

 

"FRIDAY, turn off the cameras and microphones while I'm inside" the readhead beauty commanded in a monotone voice as she dialed on the phone.

 

"Of course, Miss Romanoff" replied the new Tony's AI immediately as the metal doors closed.

 

Natasha put the phone to her ear and it didn't reach the second ring before the other person answered on the other line.

 

"Agent Romanoff".

 

"I need to ask you for a personal favor," Natasha replied immediately, his voice as emotionless as ever.

 

There was a moment of silence before Maria Hill answered.

 

"What is it about?".

 

Natasha knew Maria knew it was not a what. It was a who.

 

"Look for our best Hacker. I need everything you have on (Y / n) (L / n)".

 

* * *

 

Skye dropped her head on the desk. She couldn't believe that something like that was happening to her.

 

The last few weeks had been a real madness...

 

She had had to deal with a lot of things, like most members of her team... of her family.

 

Tripp... Tripp was gone. He had died trying to save her, and that was something that haunted her every day and every night ... in the shadows and in her dreams.

 

 

Coulson had lost an arm to save Mack and Fitz from becoming stone...  
petrifying himself in change; Mack had prevented his death -Skye could not help the shiver that went through her at the thought of losing the only person who had been like father to her- by cutting his arm off with an ax before the infection could spread through his whole body.

 

Bobbi was recovering after the torture Ward had put her through. She had gone to see her a few times, and the blonde agent had apologized to her. Skye did not know if it was because of the morphine, but in those days they had a couple of much more honest conversations than in the nearly ten months they had known is other. And Hunter... Hunter seemed like a complete different person, seeing Bobbi so hurt and helpless.

 

And that scared Skye. She didn't know if he would ever be himself again, if any of them would be.

 

May was the one who had taken the best part, in her opinion. She had decided to take a well deserved holiday with her ex-husband, who may be her future-husband in a few years. A girl can dream, right?

 

Fitz ... had finally gotten a date with Simmons, who otherwise seemed to have finally accepted Skye for who she was and what she was.

 

That would be good, if it weren't for the fact that shortly after Jemma had disappeared without a trace.

And Skye... Skye couldn't take it anymore. Her powers, After Life, Ward, HYDRA, the alleged betrayal of her team, the Inhumans, her mad, villain of a mother, her not-so-bad-parent-after-all-but-still-crazy dad who now didn't know who she was anymore, Lincoln, almost losing Coulson ...

 

She had not been able to find anything about Jemma, although those who were still standing were moving heaven and earth to find her.

 

She had to deal with forming a new team of people with powers, something that was not proving being easy. Who could be trusted, who couldn't? Who was a threat? Who had a useful power to become part of that kind of ... 'School of Avengers'? And who simply had to learn to control their powers to not hurt anyone or themselves on the way?

 

And now... this.

 

Coulson had assigned her to find information about someone named (Y / n) (L / n). And, until about a year and a half ago, there was nothing. NOTHING.

 

That girl was a ghost. There was not even a fucking birth certificate. Or if she went to school. There was no family nearby.

 

The only information is that the girl was in college, with honors, and lived with the family of a dead police officer. Nothing else.

 

Frustrated, she groaned aloud. And then she felt a hand on her shoulder.

 

"What do you have?" Coulson asked giving her a squeeze.

 

Skye groaned again, without opening her eyes.

 

"Agent Johnson ..." AC began with a scolding tone, and Skye stood up.

 

"Sorry, Director," the girl half-apologized snorting, at what Coulson gave her a glare. Skye sighed. "I have nothing".

 

Coulson blinked.

 

"What? What do you mean, nothing?"

 

Skye put her hands to the sky, standing at once, frustrated.

 

"I mean nothing! No records of parents, school, anything. Until a year ago, that girl did not exist..." she crossed her arms, looking worried. "I don't know why she is important, but she or someone else is really, really good. Even I wasn't able to do something like that being so young."

 

Coulson looked thoughtful, tight lips into a thin line. Skye knew then something was up; she knew that look too well.

 

"What happens AC?"

 

Coulson was so deep in thought that he did not even react to that she didn't call her 'Sir' or 'Director'.

 

"I think we need to visit some old friends of mine," Phil replied, pulling out his cell phone and calling Hill to ask for a Quinjet.

 

Skye frowned slightly at that.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

Coulson then smiled, looking amused.

 

"I know you said you only did it once, but I hope you don't care you have to go there a second. Call Fitz and Mack. We're heading to the Stark Tower."

 

* * *

 

Tony leaned against the bar of his living room, laughing to himself as the Captain faced him with clenched fists.

 

"Does it seem funny, Stark?" Steve rebuked him, his blue eyes darkening slightly.

 

The Avengers were gathered in the living room, looking at them in silence:

 

Bruce seemed fearful that a fight had place and he lost the nerves, sitting on one of the sofas and wringing her hands nervously, adjusting his glasses every few minutes.

 

Natasha looked at them without emotion, though prepared to intervene if necessary, with folded arms and the shoulder against the wall. Clint, a few steps away from her, played with one of his arrows, rotating it between his fingers as if it was the stick of a battery, with his sharp eyes following every movement in the room.

 

That was the reason that sometimes he could not bear Pietro, even his hawk eyes couldn't see him when the speedster put his whole being to run. He was on his feet, tapping a foot on the ground, so fast that it had formed a steady pace that almost seem like background music. Beside him, Wanda read the minds of the two men, trying to find something to avoid the incoming confrontation.

 

Vision watched silently, floating above the ground, glancing to all of them, Wanda the most, just in case he should protect her. Any other it would have caused the teasing of their peers, but now...

 

Rhodey and Sam were in silence, not wanting to take sides even though they were ready to separate them if necessary.

 

For his part, Thor seemed to agree with Steve, but he kept aside because if it was him instead of Rogers, he would not want another to take his place. No, he understood the anger of the Captain. He would have been like that to be the object of discussion his Jane.

 

"Well, yes," IronMan replied without thinking twice. "It's fun, in a twisted way, that you" he pointed to Steve's chest with a finger, "take sides for a girl you barely know instead of your team."

 

Steve raised his arms to the sky, frustrated.

 

"YOU CAN NOT PRETEND ME TO AGREE ON YOU AFTER VIOLATING HER PRIVACY!" the blonde man growled.

 

Tony raised his brunette eyebrows at once.

 

"Really? Because for what I know, since you heard that mermaid-like girl and you fell for her voice as if you were a sailor drifting, you just wanted to know more about her," The philanthropist raised his glass in his direction just in time to see how the blood flowed to the Captain cheeks, adopting a pink tone that reached his ears. "You should learn how to clear the Search Internet History after searching on Google, Capsicle".

 

"Tony ..." Bruce began to say, in a tone that clearly meant 'Shut up'. But, after all, Tony was not going to stop just because his 'Science-Bro' asked him to- he could only possibly be silent if Pepper would be present... but she wasn't.

 

No, he was Tony Stark, and if there's one thing that he was really good at was getting people riled. Not that he wanted to make Steve angry (although that was pretty funny, indeed). He wanted someone to tell the truth, because he knew something was up since the cameras and microphones of the tower had being giving problems all damn day, and his guts told him it had something to do with that girl.

 

"The good thing is you doubt me, but not of the two spies" Tony jerked his thumb to Clint and Natasha, to which Hawkeye rolled his eyes. The redhaired woman tightened. Stark was entering dangerous territory. "Do you really think by these hours SHIELD doesn't know everything about her?"

 

"GODDAMMIT STARK, I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU-!"

 

"Language."

 

And then the hands of the Captain had closed around the throat of Tony and this one hung a foot off the ground.

 

"CAPTAIN, LET HIM DOWN!" Clint shouted immediately, looking for his bow, which, of course, he didn't carried.

 

Rhodey made as if to call his suit, but Sam threw the remote across the room in a few movements. Wanda formed an energy shield between them before they could do something else.

 

"BROTHER ROGERS IS RIGHT!" Thor thundered, glaring at Clint. "THAT MIDGARDIAN GIRL HAS NOT DONE ANY HARM TO DESERVE SUCH A VIOLATION OF HER PRIVACY". Then he looked at Tony, who clung to the arm of Steve that kept him aloft. His eyes flashed like a storm under the golden fringe. "IN ASGARD WE WOULD TEACH YOU RESPECT, MAN OF IRON".

 

There was a blur and Tony slammed into the bar, several bottles fell to the ground, breaking, and Pietro stood in front of Captain, who was breathing quickly as he looked at Stark.

 

Quicksilver raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

 

"Although no one vwould like more than me for you to break his face, I do not think the solution is to kill him," stated the silver-blonde haired young man, without puting his hands down.

 

Tony stood up, rubbing the back of the his neck grimacing, but before the billionaire or any other said anything, the AI was heard throughout the tower.

 

"Mr. Stark, there are some agents of SHIELD at the door."

 

A screen slid from the roof and put out a hologram where two young agents who seemed to be in their twenties appeared. The woman had dark, shoulder lenght hair and almond, vibrant eyes; she dressed in black and was wearing leather gauntlets. The boy had dark curly blond hair and seemed lost, but also pleased as he looked around.

 

"Huh? Hello?" the girl took a couple of taps on the lens that was recording the images and all of them jumped. "I'm Daisy Johnson, SHIELD agent. And this is agent Leo Fitz" she added jerking her thumb at the other boy, who smiled absent.

 

Tony raised an eyebrow.

 

"Those two are SHIELD's agents? Really?"

 

Natasha gave him a look.

 

"That Fitz boy has developed at a young age many of our weapons, including a gun able to leave KO by nerve impulses from dendrotoxin and various types of arrows to Clint." The sneer of Stark gave way to an interest. That boy could serve in Stark Industries once he was done with SHIELD... "Do not underestimate them."

 

"Let them in, FRIDAY," Steve said then with a much more calm voice.

 

Within seconds, the doors of the elevator opened and that two appeared the two. Fitz put a gadget into the slot of the device, preventing the doors of closing again.

 

Skye smiled nervously at seeing them (because C'MON! Maybe now she had powers and all, but THE WERE THE FRICKING AVENGERS!), taking out her SHIELD badge, and Fitz stared at the holographic display.

 

"You like it?" Tony asked with a smile. The boy nodded, approaching the appliance.

 

"Of course, Mr. Stark" the blonde said enthusiastically. "We had some similar to this one in the HUB to... to..." Fitz closed his eyes, as the Avengers was left looking confused, and sighed after a moment. "Forget it."

 

Skye gave him a couple of pats to the back, squeezing his shoulder with a look of sympathy to the confused looks of the superhero team.

"Don't worry, Fitz, you're getting better," her gaze went then to the group before them, her eyes quickly wandering from one to another.

 

Instinctively, she tried to stay as far away from the Maximoff twins and Vision as she could. Perhaps it was her Inhuman part reacting to the genetics of these, but they didn't give her good vibrations. "Mmmm ... Well, hello".

 

There was a heavy silence, with confused looks and funny ones between them. When the time of silence reached in that while was absurd, Skye finally sighed and said aloud, "Look, I don't know who wanted information on such a (Y / n), but I've been sent me here and-"

 

"I KNEW IT!" roared Tony turning to the Captain, who blinked, his face blank. "See? I KNEW IT ROGERS!" He shook his head. "It was better me than SHIELD."

 

Sam looked then at Natasha with hard eyes, feeling some kind of rage inside although he didn't exactly know why, while Bruce whispered a 'Not again' to himself.

 

All eyes, including Clint, had gone straight to Natasha, who advanced towards Skye.

 

"Nat ..." Clint whispered, looking surprised. The Widow fought the overwhelming feeling of guilt she felt at his gaze, walking with arm extended toward Skye.

 

"You must be the Hacker. I asked for the best." Skye tried to hide her surprise as she shook hands with Natasha.

 

The best. The Black Widow had asked for the best, and they had chosen her.

 

Really Coulson's considered the best? Wow.

 

W-O-W.

 

"Uh, yeah. I guess I am." Skye scratched her head, tilting her neck to one side, without words. "As I was saying ..."

 

"I would prefer this to be private," replied Natasha, but the way she said it made it clear that was not an option.

 

However, a well-known voice made the original Avengers there remained stone and pale as death.

 

"If you don't mind, Natasha," intervened Phil Coulson, leaving the elevator where moments before were Skye and Fitz while he put in right place the sling where his now handless arm was, followed by Mack, who seemed really nervous to be among so many hostile people, "I'd rather that we discusse this together. "

 

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

 

 

Phil grinned at the looks of amazement and confusion around him, proud of himself.

"Sorry for the dramatic entrance, I couldn't help it," he replied while he put off his dark glasses and then point with his thumb toward the elevator, still open. "And Tony? Do not worry about the cameras, as soon as Skye clean the virus she got into the system, it will remain as new".


	6. "You know what they do to guys like us in SHIELD"

Phil Coulson sat before the golden bar Stark had in the Avengers' Tower while Tony handed him bag of frozen peas for his bruised black eye. Even at that moment he could hear the rest of his crew and his old friends talking in other rooms, though a female voice was heard above them all. A shiver ran down his spine. He did not want to see that woman angry with him again in his life. Ever. 

"Thank you, Tony," he murmured, taking the ice and placing it on his wound. He couldn't help a hiss of pain at the touch of the delicate flesh with the cold of the improvised remedy, followed by a sigh of relief. His swollen eye was grateful. 

"It looks like it hurts, Agent," the philanthropist said, sitting down beside him at the bar. 

"I didn't know that Pepper had such a right hand" 

"It's not like you did not deserve it," Tony pointed out in a sour tone, and Coulson grimaced. 

"You lied to us. They lied to us". 

The director shook his head, pricking the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes tightly. That particular subject always caused him a headache and Phil was starting to get fed up. 

"They didn't." 

"Oh, come on!" Stark replied, throwing his arms into the air. "They said you were dead! And", Tony pointed at his friend's chest with a finger, "I do not know how you feel, but I see you very much alive." 

"I was dead". 

Stark's face became serious immediately at the tone Coulson had used. It was not an apology, nor an explanation, nor an excuse. It sounded simply to a fact, to something certain that is being exposed. His suspicions were confirmed when Phil added that it had not been minutes, or hours, but whole days. The rest was... "classified". 

That wasn't a problem for Tony, who would later deal with hacking any files SHIELD had had about it. What supposed a problem was the mere fact that the agency seemed to have played chess with them, and with the lives of those around them. There was also the fact that until very recently SHIELD and HYDRA had been the same thing. 

Now there was only one question left in mind: How many jobs would they have done for HYDRA... without them knowing? 

 

\--------------- 

"This is starting to feel ridiculous," you said, looking at your peers, your (h/c) locks falling over your eyes. "What is the probability that we have never crossed paths with the Avengers and suddenly we meet them three times in two months?" 

"It's Peter's fault," Allison said automatically with a shrug, without taking her eyes off the computer in front of her. Suddenly, a red and blue figure fell from the ceiling. Peter turned on his heels then and looked at her, grimacing. 

"Why?" the boy exclaimed as he finished squeezing into the tights, the mask still on his hand, while Gwen smiled slightly. 

"Parker's luck." 

Sighing, Peter pulled the mask up down his head to his neck, adjusting his lenses perfectly. And so, the young adult, scientist geek, Peter Parker, was gone and had given way to (the amazing) Spider-Man. 

"Going to make a round," he said, walking to the window while mumbling things about how unfair life was and how bad the girls were with him. 

"Did you say something?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"..." There was a 'thwip' and Peter had left. Your two friends burst into laughter, but you could not help but shuffle uncomfortably, thinking (feeling) something was wrong. 

 

\--------- 

A teenage girl with fire-red hair and a yellow-and-green fighting suit hurried down the aisles of the huge mansion in Westchester, dodging her companions to go as fast as she could (a couple of wings around, a few horns there, a fire-spitting boy who almost broke a hole in her leg by sneezing... the usual thing) until she got at a tall dark wooden door and stood still. What should she do? Should she just enter the room? Should she keep waiting for her to be called? But it was an important subject. She had run all the houses' corridors for this! Why did she stop now? 

"Do you need a push?" Though the voice was rough, the tone was sweet, and her stomach kinda twisted a little (as if it was full of... butterflies). Her green eyes met Logan's blues, following the straight nose, the dark sideburns, and the square jaw, until she looked at the other side in amazement of herself. 

What the hell was wrong with her? Although her counterpart had felt something very strong for this man, she could not afford it again. First, he was much older than herself (although with his healing factor that would be no problem, since Logan was growing old much slower than any other person they knew, but still ...), and secondly, if she was there it was because he and Kitty had prevented certain future things from happening, creating that crossing of realities and as a consequence that she was now here, living the life of her other self. 

Well, thinking about it all made her brains hurt from a big headache, but surely her case wasn't the only one that had gone through the alteration of its timeline throughout its existence at least to couple of times. And of course, that was the daily bread if you were a mutant... 

Besides, it wasn't as if the fact that she was in the present time was the greatest of their concerns. 

Before she knew it, Wolverine had turned the knob down and they had both entered a precious room with multitude of books, wooden shelves with beautiful reliefs, and a beautiful pine-colored desk. 

"Professor?" the young mutant called, to be answered by a couple of voices to her right. 

"Hello, Jean". 

Yes, a couple of voices. One from a young man with crutches dressed in jeans and a shirt, the other from an elderly man in a wheelchair; both with their characteristic and affable smile on their faces. 

And that, gentlemen, was one of the biggest complications of the events mentioned before. At least she was just one. 

Sighing, Jean glanced at her mentors (or could she speak of him in the singular even if they were two since they were the same person?). 

"Where's Magneto, Chuck?" Logan asked before she could even open her mouth, leaning against the table. "Didn't see him today in class". 

"Erik is in a meeting with SHIELD" the young Xavier began, being cut by Wolverine right on the spot. 

"I didn't mean your boyfrend, but the old bucket head, Chuckie," the Canadian stated, being answered by a metal ball that pierced the ground and hit him directly on the jaw. "This is what I get for worrying..." he murmured as he put his lower jaw in place again with a crack. 

"Enough," Professor X said, looking at Jean, seeing what she had seen minutes before in her mind. She didn't even know how, but she had come to see something only SHIELD agents had witnessed. Maybe Erik had helped her somehow? She didn't know, but... Wow. "Amazing," he whispered, never taking his eyes off her. 

The young Charles followed the example of his older version and a smile covered his face. Such power... and responsability to use it. 

"I'll call Erik," he said then. "If that video is real ..." 

"We could have another member for the X-Men," Jean completed, almost bouncing off the excitement. Another girl on the team? And she looked young! Maybe she was her age?. She would give anything to have anyone besides Kitty to talk... 

"Yeah, well..." Logan cut in, pulling the claws out of one of his hands. He did not know who they were talking about, but he did know that person had powers, maybe was mutant, and that meant that HYDRA would be tracking her. He wasn't going to let them get there before him, not at all. "What if we first try to find her before others do it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW I'M AN HORRIBLE PERSON AND I LET YOU ALL HANGIN' THERE FOR A WHOLE DAMN YEAR AND I'M SO SORRY. I dunno how to explain myself, really... This year was hard for me and my mental sanity, so please, be patient. My brain was all messed up and I had to study for my forensic exams... and Gosh. I'm sorry. But I'm back. Love you all. Really. 
> 
>  
> 
> XOXO 
> 
> Ceci


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